These are the key changes to the Cambridge English: First exam that will be introduced in January 2015.

Description

Current version

Revised version (2015)

Format

Five papers

Four papers: Reading and Use of English have been combined

Timing

3 hours 59 minutes

3 hours 29 minutes

Number of Parts

17

17

Number of questions

104

84

Reading and Use of English (both versions)

The Reading and Use of English papers have been combined.

The revised paper takes 1 hour 15 minutes, which is 30 minutes shorter than the current Reading and Use of English papers combined.

All the task types from both papers have been kept but the number of items in each task has been reduced.

From 2015, there will be 7 parts and 52 questions.

Use of English tasks come before Reading tasks so that there is a clear progression from a focus at word and sentence level to a focus on whole text content and structure.

Writing

The compulsory Part 1 question is now an essay rather than an email or letter.

The word count for both parts has increased to 140–190 words.

In Part 2, candidates now choose from three questions rather than five, and candidates can decide to write an article, a report, a review or an email/letter.

In the for adults version, there will no longer be questions on set texts, and in the for Schools version, there will only be one set text and only one question related to the set text.

CAE changes at a glance

These are the key changes to the Cambridge English: Advanced exam that will be introduced in January 2015.

Description

Current version

Revised version (2015)

Format

Five papers

Four papers: Reading and Use of English have been combined

Timing

4 hours 40 minutes

3 hours 55 minutes

Number of Parts

19

18

Number of questions

114

86

Reading and Use of English

The Reading and Use of English papers have been combined.

The revised exam takes 1 hour 30 minutes, which is 45 minutes shorter than the current Reading and Use of English papers combined.

From 2015, there are 8 parts and 56 questions.

The task types in the revised Cambridge English:Advanced (CAE) exam are now the same as the task types for Cambridge English: First (FCE). The differences are in levels, content and relative abstraction/cognitive challenges in the text.

Some of the tasks from the current Reading and Use of English papers (short texts and gapped sentences) have been dropped.

There is a new cross-text multiple matching task.

Use of English tasks are before Reading tasks so that there is a clear progression from a focus at word and sentence level to a focus on whole text content and structure.

The content has a stronger academic flavour, reflecting its intended use by late teens and young adults intending to study at higher education level, or by those who need a CEFR Level C1 qualification for career or immigration purposes.

Writing

There is a new compulsory essay in Part 1. The input takes the form of notes made during a seminar, lecture or panel discussion.

Part 2 will remain essentially unchanged; however, it will no longer include an article or information sheet as output text types.

There will no longer be questions on set texts.

You can find further information and teaching resources in the following links